Paper used for the country’s various pension schemes was manufactured at Stowford Mill from as early as 1926 and was business it continued to supply until the government phased out the pension book system in 2003, replacing it with Direct Payment.
Watermarked Paper for Pension Schemes
OLD AGE PENSION PAYMENTS
were first introduced by the British Government in 1908 and paid five shillings a week. Only men above the age of 70 qualified for this first pension, at a time when the average life expectancy was below 50. Despite this, roughly half a million people went to collect their pension when they became available.
Paper used for the British pension scheme was first manufactured by the well-established paper maker of the time, Portals of Laverstoke located in Hampshire. However, due to a shortage of production capacity at their own mill following the award of this new contract, they leased Bramshott Paper Mill just a short distance away to manufacture the paper required.
In 1924, when the lease for Bramshott expired, Portals decided to move the pension business to their newly acquired paper mill in Devon, Stowford Mill at Ivybridge. The plan was to use this mill to expand their general security paper business activities. Within our archives there is a sample of paper emanating from a production trial of watermarked Old Age Pension paper manufactured in 1925. This was sent to the Postmaster-General for formal approval ahead of full-scale production.
By 1926 the production journals at Stowford Mill reveal that “W.O.O.A.C. engine sized, pension paper” was being manufactured. The abbreviation stood for Widows’, Orphans’, and Old-Age Contributory Pensions. Production records also reveal that National Health Insurance (NHI) stamp paper and Unemployment Insurance (UI) stamp paper was being produced from around this time.
The National Insurance Act 1911 Part I, effective 15 July 1912, established compulsory health insurance for some 13 million workers. Insurance was paid by contributions from the employee and employer and subsidised by the government. The employee and employer contributions were paid by stamps affixed weekly to contribution cards. With a delay in obtaining the new watermark for these Insurance stamps, what was referred to as “Simple NHI” watermarked paper, Somerset House made preliminary printings of some values using the Multiple Cypher watermark which was used for postage stamps.
The National Insurance Act 1911 Part II, effective 15 July 1912, established unemployment insurance for some 2¼ million workers, primarily those engaged in manual labour. As with health insurance, contributions were paid by stamps affixed to contribution cards. The amount of the weekly contribution depended on the number of days worked. The paper incorporated the ‘Block UI’ watermark which was an all-over pattern incorporating these two letters.
When the printing contract passed from Harrison & Sons to Waterlow & Sons Ltd on 1 Jan 1924, a new paper supplier, Portals (John Allen & Sons) was selected. This move prompted a change to the watermark used for National Insurance stamps and the use of the ‘Block NHI’ which provided overall watermark coverage to the base paper with these three letters.
On 1 Jan 1926, National Health and Pensions insurance stamps were issued for the first time under the Widows’, Orphans’, and Old-Age Contributory Pensions Act 1925. This Act provided a combined program for health insurance and old-age pensions. It provided a pension of 10s a week from the age of 65. It was later revamped in 1928 to cover at all workers but dependent on them paying into the scheme.
Pension paper production continued in earnest at Stowford Mill and the production records reveal that the watermark changed many times. In 1928 it was being recorded as Pensions or Allowances, reflecting the change to the pension scheme and by 1939, the production records show that the watermark was GVIR Pensions or Allowances, reflecting the change to the head of state.
The Old Age and Widows’ Pensions Act 1940, effective 1 July 1940, reduced the retirement age for women from 65 to 60 and increased the contributions for pensions by 3d for women and 2d for men.
Health & Pensions stamps were replaced by National Insurance stamps when the National Insurance Act 1946 came into effect on 5 July 1948. The paper incorporated a watermark referred to as the ‘Block MNI’ (Ministry of National Insurance) and was manufactured at Stowford Paper Mill. These stamps continued in use until 1975.
PENSION ACT
The British Government established two committees in the 1890s to investigate a pension scheme for the UK (the Rothschild Committee on Old Age Pensions in 1896 and a Select Committee on the Aged Deserving Poor in 1899). However, it was not until 1908 that a state pension was introduced in the UK.
Britain was now entering a period of social welfare reform. In 1911 the National Insurance Act was passed and under Part 1 of the scheme, employers were obliged to contribute to a fund to provide sickness payments to their workers. The contributions by employer and worker were made by means of stamping cards every week. National Health Insurance stamps were first issued on 1st Jan 1912.
The National Insurance Act Part II enabled unemployment benefit to be paid to certain “insured trades” such as building construction, shipbuilding, iron founding, mechanical engineering, vehicle contracting, and sawmills. Evidence of payment was again provided by fixing special stamps in books or cards. If contributing workers were made redundant, they could receive 7s 6d (90d) per week for 15 weeks, collected from labour exchanges.
Watermarks in pension documents
The paper used to produce pension books was a light weight grade to maximise document yield and included a watermark, serving as a first level security feature (one which could be easily recognised). The early watermarks appeared throughout the sheet of paper, whilst later watermarks were more intricate tonal designs, which posed greater difficulty to mimic, and were localised in bands and positioned so that each pension slip contained one band of watermarks.
Watermarks have existed for centuries and are created at an early stage of the paper manufacturing process using a special cylinder called a dandy roll. This bears the watermark design normally in reverse, which it then imparts to the paper as it is being manufactured. The lighter and darker areas of a watermark are achieved by creating subtle variations in the thickness of the paper.
Her Majesty’s Stationery Office
The provision of pension paper was coordinated by HMSO (Her Majesty’s Stationery Office). Formerly the Stationery Office, it was established in 1786 as the central organisation for the printing and binding of official government documents, stationery and publications. From 1822, all government departments were required to buy stationery through the open competitions and tenders operated by HMSO.
Wiggins Teape had a long standing relationship with HMSO and supplied papers ranging from naval charts and Ordnance Survey maps to papers for Savings and Health stamps and passports. It also supplied ‘Goatskin Parchment’, an archival paper used by the National Savings Bank, along with some other 100% rag papers.
The phasing out of pension books
From April 2003, the Government began phasing out the pension book system and replacing it with Direct Payment. This new policy saw pensions paid directly into an individual’s account of their choice, either a bank or building society account or a Post Office card account.
The Government stated that the benefits of choosing Direct Payment over the pension book were:
* more secure – books could go missing in the post, get lost or stolen.
* safer – no-one had to draw out their whole pension at once or carry more cash than they needed.
* more flexible.
* much cheaper to process payments in this way.
Watermarked Paper for Pension Schemes
Old age pension payments were first introduced by the British Government in 1908 and paid five shillings a week. Only men above the age of 70 qualified for this first pension, at a time when the average life expectancy was below 50. Despite this, roughly half a million people went to collect their pension when they became available.
Watermarked Paper for Pension Schemes
Paper used for the British pension scheme was first manufactured by the well-established paper maker of the time, Portals of Laverstoke located in Hampshire. However, due to a shortage of production capacity at their own mill following the award of this new contract, they leased Bramshott Paper Mill just a short distance away to manufacture the paper required.
In 1924, when the lease for Bramshott expired, Portals decided to move the pension business to their newly acquired paper mill in Devon, Stowford Mill at Ivybridge. The plan was to use this mill to expand their general security paper business activities. Within our archives there is a sample of paper emanating from a production trial of watermarked Old Age Pension paper manufactured in 1925. This was sent to the Postmaster-General for formal approval ahead of full-scale production.
By 1926 the production journals at Stowford Mill reveal that “W.O.O.A.C. engine sized, pension paper” was being manufactured. The abbreviation stood for Widows’, Orphans’, and Old-Age Contributory Pensions. Production records also reveal that National Health Insurance (NHI) stamp paper and Unemployment Insurance (UI) stamp paper was being produced from around this time.
The National Insurance Act 1911 Part I, effective 15 July 1912, established compulsory health insurance for some 13 million workers. Insurance was paid by contributions from the employee and employer and subsidised by the government. The employee and employer contributions were paid by stamps affixed weekly to contribution cards. With a delay in obtaining the new watermark for these Insurance stamps, what was referred to as “Simple NHI” watermarked paper, Somerset House made preliminary printings of some values using the Multiple Cypher watermark which was used for postage stamps.
The National Insurance Act 1911 Part II, effective 15 July 1912, established unemployment insurance for some 2¼ million workers, primarily those engaged in manual labour. As with health insurance, contributions were paid by stamps affixed to contribution cards. The amount of the weekly contribution depended on the number of days worked. The paper incorporated the ‘Block UI’ watermark which was an all-over pattern incorporating these two letters.
When the print contract passed from Harrison & Sons to Waterlow & Sons Ltd on 1 Jan 1924, a new paper supplier, Portals (John Allen & Sons) was selected. This move prompted a change to the watermark used for National Insurance stamps and the use of the ‘Block NHI’ which provided overall watermark coverage to the base paper with these three letters.
On 1 Jan 1926, National Health and Pensions insurance stamps were issued for the first time under the Widows’, Orphans’, and Old-Age Contributory Pensions Act 1925. This Act provided a combined program for health insurance and old-age pensions. It provided a pension of 10s a week from the age of 65. It was later revamped in 1928 to cover at all workers but dependent on them paying into the scheme.
Pension paper production continued in earnest at Stowford Mill and the production records reveal that the watermark changed many times. In 1928 it was being recorded as Pensions or Allowances, reflecting the change to the pension scheme and by 1939, the production records show that the watermark was GVIR Pensions or Allowances, reflecting the change to the head of state.
The Old Age and Widows’ Pensions Act 1940, effective 1 July 1940, reduced the retirement age for women from 65 to 60 and increased the contributions for pensions by 3d for women and 2d for men.
Health & Pensions stamps were replaced by National Insurance stamps when the National Insurance Act 1946 came into effect on 5 July 1948. The paper incorporated a watermark referred to as the ‘Block MNI’ (Ministry of National Insurance) and was manufactured at Stowford Paper Mill. These stamps continued in use until 1975.
Her Majesty’s Stationery Office
The provision of pension paper was coordinated by HMSO (Her Majesty’s Stationery Office). Formerly the Stationery Office, it was established in 1786 as the central organisation for the printing and binding of official government documents, stationery and publications. From 1822, all government departments were required to buy stationery through the open competitions and tenders operated by HMSO.
Wiggins Teape had a long standing relationship with HMSO and supplied papers ranging from naval charts and Ordnance Survey maps to papers for Savings and Health stamps and passports. It also supplied ‘Goatskin Parchment’, an archival paper used by the National Savings Bank, along with some other 100% rag papers.
The phasing out of pension books
From April 2003, the Government began phasing out the pension book system and replacing it with Direct Payment. This new policy saw pensions paid directly into an individual’s account of their choice, either a bank or building society account or a Post Office card account.
The Government stated that the benefits of choosing Direct Payment over the pension book were:
-
more secure – books could go missing in the post, get lost or stolen.
-
safer – no-one had to draw out their whole pension at once or carry more cash than they needed.
-
more flexible.
-
much cheaper to process payments in this way.